As the revised Budget 2023 remains moderately expansionary, Kenanga Research expects the debt level to increase slightly to 61.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2023 on an estimated fiscal deficit of RM95.0 billion and potentially slower economic growth.

Statutory debt will likely remain under the 65.0 percent threshold, the research firm said in a note released on Saturday.

As of end-2022, the federal government's debt was...